Saving Sakura
by aboniann
Summary: Syaoran didn’t intend to keep saving Sakura, the damsel-in-distress; it just became a habit. Still, a simple ‘thank you’ from her would always make his day.


Saving Sakura

**Saving Sakura**

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_Summary: Syaoran didn't intend to keep saving Sakura, the damsel-in-distress; it just became a habit. Still, a simple 'thank you' from her would always make his day._

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"Honestly Kinomoto-san," I droned, "you need to stop getting yourself into trouble. One day, I won't be there, and WHO KNOWS what will happen to you?!" I exclaimed, my arms flailing. I turned when I didn't hear the usual playful tune humming from Sakura's lips and cursed inwardly when I noticed she wasn't there.

"Great," I mumbled. She's going to be in some sort of mess again in…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

"AAAH!" A shriek emitted from a cherry blossom tree just a few yards away. My left eye twitched when it was the same familiar cry for help that I have been hearing since I have first arrived in this God-forsaken high school.

I paced to the blossoming tree and placed my hand over my brows to have some shade from the sun's rays. "Stupid sun," I muttered. I sighed when I saw a trembling figure dangling from a limp tree branch and stretched my arms out. She let go and fell to my arms, blushing when she saw who her savior was.

Um…Me. Xiao Lang Li. Savior of Sakura Kinomoto 24/7.

I swear, the mayor should get me a red cape and a costume with a large freaking 'S' insignia on the middle. Yeah, that's what I deserve for saving her all the time.

I placed her on the ground and she smiled gratefully. I rolled my eyes, a pink tint glowing on my cheeks. Kami-sama, I can just melt.

…And no, I am not PMS-ing.

"Gomen nasai, Syaoran," she said, a smile radiating her features. God, she'll smile even after she escaped from the brink of _death. _I think she's on crack every day…

…What? If she's naive enough to think that chocolate was once illegal, then she'll be naïve enough to think that _crack is candy._

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make a habit out of this," I scoffed at this, fully aware of what's going to happen next.

She nodded vigorously, a smile upon her lips. "Hai. Sorry that you're always having to save me. It's like this is your job of some sort…" she began to fiddle around with her fingers, and I swore that she was blushing in embarrassment.

I smirked. "Forget about it. What were you doing up there anyway?"

She giggled sheepishly. "A-ano…I wanted to return a baby bird to its nest, but I slipped my footing." She rubbed the back of her head now, fixing her hair. I continued to watch her, amused that she was unaware of something sticking out. I leaned in, pulling a twig out of the corner of her hair and twirled it in-between my fingers. I sighed.

"Be more careful next time, okay?" I whispered huskily, and she nodded, a smile emanating once more.

I smiled back. Her smiles were contagious, after all.

She knelt down against the tree to pick up her bag and waved at me. "Sayonara, Syaoran! Thank you again for saving me!" Her emerald orbs shone innocently from the sun's rays and I subconsciously returned the gesture.

Did I _say _that she sun was stupid?_ Silly me. _

She disappeared from the school gates and I couldn't stop smiling.

Just for the record, saving her wasn't a job…

_It was more like a hobby. _

o0o0o

It was never a routine when you were around Sakura. She was unpredictable. The only thing you _can _predict out of her is that she'll always need somebody's help. And being a good friend I am, I would be that person who would always help her. I didn't mind, I just wished I wouldn't look like a dumb ass around her.

It became more frequent but casual; genuine yet rare.

But she would always be the one who would let it out.

_The rare smiles…_

_The occasional hand-holding…_

_The soft gazes that I couldn't help but share with her vibrant features…_

I have only known her for a few months, but it didn't take a genius to realize that I have fallen for her.

But the innocent cherry blossom, a.k.a. Lois Lane, would just think of me as her Superman.

And before I knew it, I didn't grow annoyed anymore about the frequent saving here and there. I actually…_enjoyed_ it. She made it seem _fun _and that smile of hers made it look like that everything would be all right.

I trust her…

But when it came to trees, I advise supervision. Honestly, I don't know what's with her and trees. The first time we met, I was reading a book and she fell from the goddamn tree onto my goddamn lap, crushing my goddamn book. Is that too many 'goddamns'?

She was so clueless about the danger she was in _until _she would notice she was either about to fall, get crushed, electrified, and it goes on.

However, one day…

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Syaoran. I really don't know what I'd do without you." I grinned goofily at her simple words. I swear, I think my I.Q. dropped from being around her so much. I honestly can't think when I'm with her…

Well, when I'm without her, I'm a ticking time bomb. Cool, huh?

ANYWHO-

"Not much, obviously," I retorted snobbishly. She pouted, glaring at me and I reached out to grab her hand, squeezing it to silently tell her that I was playing. She squeezed back, biting her bottom lip and I grinned.

_I hope I had an effect on her too…_

"I owe you one, Syaoran. You saved me so many times…" I shushed her by placing a finger on her lips. She was shorter than me by several inches, perhaps 5, and this made her look petite to me. Whenever I would face her or try to meet her gaze, I would always have to bend downward or crouch. Because of this, I had a tendency to hold her by the waist or the shoulder, and this would always spread rumors.

Stupid rumors…because of them, Sakura has been trying to avoid me lately.

"Owe me?" I echoed. I chuckled, ruffling her hair and she squeaked, raising her tiny fingers to fix her auburn tresses. "Ying Fa, I told you that it's perfectly fine. I'm used to this."

She frowned, and I immediately frowned as well. "Demo…I want to help…"

She seemed…_disappointed? _I stared at her with a confused expression written across my face, and I shook my head, disapproving my own thoughts.

"Okay, okay." She beamed as I reached to run a hand through my chestnut locks, and I swore that it was going to be tough to come up with something that my cherry blossom can help me with.

My hand froze mid-air.

_M-my _cherry blossom? I gulped, shaking my head.

"Tomorrow, come early for morning duties. I have to prepare the materials for the teacher in biology, and I need to clean the utensils for dissecting." She squealed happily, throwing her arms around my neck to embrace me. I began to blush deep hues of red, and when she pulled away, I forced my eyes to look in a different direction aside from her emerald shades.

"Arigatou, Syaoran," she murmured. I smiled. Whenever she was murmuring, she would almost _always_ have her fingers covering her lips in a shy manner. It made her look…_delectable. _In other words, she was shy.

…You are absolutely one perverted-minded.

I nodded at her direction and picked up my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder and grabbed hers, ignoring her protests. "Come on, I'll walk you home. I need to make sure you don't bump into a pole while you're on your way there."

She crossed her arms, but seeing my head start she ran after me, skipping the rest of the way home.

o0o0o

_I was nervous._

She usually came to school late, and asking for her to wake up early and come to school while the sun was still coming up was dangerous,_ especially _for her. I paced around the room, desperate and worried. I needed to make sure she was all right. Eventually, pacing the room wasn't enough so I began banging my head against the chalkboard.

_Owwie…_

I am such an idiot! Why didn't I go to her house to pick her up so I can make sure she would be all right?

Oh yeah…'cause her brother was there.

_Stupid mother fu-_

The door opened and my head shot up when I saw a familiar, adoring face. She threw her backpack against the wall and rushed towards me.

"Syaoran, I'm so sorry I'm late! My grandfather had stayed over last night and I overslept from hearing his stories and-" I lifted a hand, signaling for her to stop her babbling.

"It's all right," I comforted, placing a hand on her shoulder to ease her tense body. I felt it was no need to tell her that I was worried sick about her and began desperately banging my head against the chalkboard, but hey! No harm done.

She sighed in relief. "I'm sorry. Did you finish the chores?" She tiptoed over my shoulder to look back on the desk, seeing all the utensils cleaned and laid out neatly in order. I nodded, and her shoulders drooped. "I see." I backed away as I saw a dark cloud with rain forming over her head.

"A-ah, don't worry Sakura. I'm sure there's something else we can do together." She smiled weakly, giving a mute nod in response. I frowned at this. She seemed really disappointed, and I needed to find a way to cheer her up. I stared around the room. Aside from the pacing and head-banging, I took the liberty to clean the room spotless while waiting impatiently for her entrance. My eyes stopped short when I saw the erasers lying alongside the chalk.

I took her hands, leading her towards the window with the erasers being carried to the windowsill. "Come. Help me clean the erasers." She seemed to perk up from the simple gesture, exuberantly clapping the erasers to ease them from the chalk. I grinned, not noticing her hand coming towards my forehead.

"Syaoran, what happened to your forehead?" S.H.I.T.

I gulped nervously, coughing to the opposite side but Sakura just followed. "Must be the chalk from the erasers," I replied rather hastily. She shook her head, unconvinced.

"I noticed the chalk once I entered the classroom. What happened to it?" Invisible sweat dripped down my forehead.

"Trust me, its better if you don't know," I said, placing the erasers back against the chalkboard and Sakura in pursuit. She was taken aback from my hostility, but she nodded nonetheless without a smile or a sign of emotion in her features. I sighed.

"Is Syaoran saving Sakura from the truth?" Sakura asked after a few moments of silence.

I stared back at her for a few minutes and sighed. I grabbed her chalk-coated fingers and squeezed them. "The truth?"

She nodded.

_"I was worried sick about you."_

o0o0o

"Sakura?" I called, shaking my head to several directions for her whereabouts. "Sakura, where are you?" I murmured, my voice lowering.

Oh God…She's not with me or her friends. This is bad. She might be in danger, most definitely dangling from a tree. Kami-sama, I hope that she isn't.

"Syaoran?" I looked ahead and sighed in relief when I saw Sakura hiding behind the same tree trunk that she was screaming for Superman's help from a few days ago.

"Sakura," I trudged towards her, each step seeming to last for eternity. "What are you doing here? Usually you're on a tree branch or a ladder, trying to climb down."

She shook her head, tears brimmed her eyes. "Syaoran doesn't like Sakura up on trees."

"W-what?" I took a seat next to her. "What's wrong, Sakura?"

She didn't answer for a while, and just when I was about to repeat my question, she opened her mouth. "Are you tired of saving me, Syaoran?"

My amber eyes widened, and I wondered where she got that.

"I overheard some of the girls saying…that you were getting tired of rescuing me…" she buried her head in between her legs. "I mean, who wouldn't? I probably annoy you like I annoy the others."

"That's not true, Ying Fa. I would never get tired of you. And you do not annoy me," I stated, ready to tear the girls' limbs off.

"Do you promise?" She asked, insecurity seeping in her voice. I clutched her feeble hands and leaned in towards her ear.

"The truth?" She nodded.

_"Saving Sakura is the best thing that has ever happened to me."_

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**Author's Notes: **Yeah, this is just a random story that I came up. I got the idea after reading a chapter of Saving Syaoran, another fanfic on this web. Hopefully you guys liked this story and would review, telling me what you think.

Please review my other stories, because I need to know whether or not to continue writing like this story or like my other stories. Thank you!


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